Toy hand car



Watented Aug. 1 25, 1936 1;. wrap STATES FWQE PATENT Patrick E. E. Coderre, Salisbury, @onm, assignor of one-half to iJonstantine l. Lent This invention relates to toy hand cars or the like, and refers especially to such toy hand cars by means of which a pair of figures are given a realistic animated movement. These figures may 6 represent animals, newspaper strip comics, Mickey Mouse cartoons and such like.

An object of this invention is to provide a toy hand car or the like that is comparatively inexpensive of manufacture, of practical usage and it safe to operate.

A further object of this invention is to provide a toy hand car that will operate either upon rails or upon a level surface.

Other objects and'features will appear from W the following detailed description in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification.

Fig. l. is a front view of the toy hand car showing the relation of a pair of animated figures with so the device proper.

. Fig. 2 is a section taken on a line L-2 of Fig. 1 showing a spring operated winding motor.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the hand car handle taken on a line 3-3 of Fig. l.

25 Fig. 4 is a section taken through the spring barrel 2% on a line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a modification of the toy hand car shown in Fig. 1 in which the operating handle that animates the figures is driven directly from 30 the propelling wheel instead of being driven from the wheel shaft. I

Fig. 6 is a view taken on a line 6-4 of Fig. 5.

Fig. '1 illustrates a further modification of the toy hand car from that shown in Figs.'1 and 5 85 whereby the-animated. figures are operated directly from the propelling mechanism instead of being driven from' the shaft or propelling wheels. The figure also shows a car that can be run on a flat surface in lieu of moving upon rail tracks.

The figure further shows the animation of only one of the figures mounted upon the car aforesaid.

Fig. Bis a section taken on a line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral It represents a 45 toy hand car which comprises a base I l preferably formed of a fiat top l2 and having sides l3 and i4 inclined to an angle of 90 with respect to said fiat top l2. A triangular shaped structure I is carried with the base I l consisting of two side 50 frames l5 and H which are secured to the top i2 either by welding, riveting or by any other practical means of joining them together. The upper sections of the frames l6 H are provided with ears i8 and i9 having shaft bearing bores 20.

55 A set of propelling wheels 2| are mounted upon and also turn on cross shafts 22 and 23. The car it moves upon the rail tracks 24 as shown.

A shaft 25 is mounted between the frames it and il. A spring barrel 26 is mounted on the shaft 25, and upon the outside of said spring 5 barrel a ratchet wheel 21! is provided. (See Fig. 4). One end designated by the numeral 28 of the winding spring 25 is held to the barrel 2G by means of a rivet 3t or similar securing means,

and the opposite end designated by the numeral l0 3! is held by means of a rivet 32 to a gear wheel 33 which is free to rotate on the shaft .25. The end section designated by the numeral 3d of the shaft 25 extends outside the frame it and which terminates to a. square taper 35. The latter square taper is provided to fit a key 36 with which to wind up the spring 29. A ratchet arm ll serves to hold the ratchet wheel 27 and the winding spring 29 respectively under tension of the spring aforesaid. v The gear wheel 33 which is under tension of the spring 29 engages the gear 38 that is rigidly mounted on the shaftilt and which turns in the bearings provided by the extended sections 4t and M of the side frames i6 and il. On the same shaft 39 there is also secured a gear wheel 42 which engages with a gear wheel 43 that is secured to the wheel propelling shaft 23. The shafts 22 and 23 are rotated inside the bearings formed by the extended sections 22 am 23 of the side framesv I3 and M.

A section of the shaft 23 is formed into a crank loop 45. The lower end section 41 of the crank arm 46 is secured to the bend of said loop. The

opposite'section 48 of the arm 46 is secured to the hand driving handle 49, the latter consisting of two integral sections 50 and 5| which are held together by means of the'rods 52 and 53 the latter being hinged to the ears l8 and I9 by means of a cross pin 54. A bell 55 is suspended preferably from the handle 49 and operates in response to the movement of the handle aforesaid.

The animated figures 55 and 51 are positioned on the platform I l. The torso of these figures are split into idler moving sections and such sections are loosely hinged together, preferably at the designated points indicated by the numerals58 and 59. The legs of the'figures are hinged to theframe H at the point designated by the numeral 60. The end section 6! of the arms of the figures aforesaid are movably held onto the bars 52 and 53. Further particulars of these figures will be given hereinafter.

An arm member 521s pivoted at the point designated by the numeral ti which serves the purpose as a brake for the car. The said arm member is provided with a ratchet extension 64 which engages the teeth of the gear 33 in the event the user desires to stop the operation of the spring motor. This action in effect halts the propelling movement of the toy hand car.

Referring to Fig. 5 which shows a modification of the toy hand car from that shown in Fig. 1. The figure animating handle 46 instead of being driven by the crank loop 45 of the propelling shaft 23 is directly driven from one of the wheels, which, in this particular instance is operated through the medium of the wheel 2|.

A bracket arm 64 of somewhat different construction to that shown in Fig. 1 is also provided. The end section 65 of said bracket arm serves as a propelling means. The opposite end of said arm swings on the pivot 66. A pair of sprocket teeth 61 integral to the arm 64 engages with the gear wheel 33 for the purpose of stopping the operation of the spring motor whenever desired by the user.

Referring to Fig. 7 which illustrates a further modification of the toy hand car from that shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The animating handle 46 instead of being driven from one of the wheels or from one of the propelling shafts is driven directly from the winding or driving motor. In this instance the arm 46 is driven by means of the driving gear 33. The device may also be driven from any other suitable section of the propelling mechanism. In Fig. '7 it will also be seen that it is possible to animate only one of the figures which in this instance is the partially shown figure 51. Another figure 66* is shown in a sitting or other non-operating position. It will be readily seen in the foregoing modification of the toy hand car the figure 56* may be animated in some other manner different from that shown of the figure 51.

Referring again to the modification of the toy hand car as shown in Fig. 7. A bracket arm 68 of a somewhat different character from the arm 64 is also provided as a stopping and starting medium for said device. This arm at one end thereof swings at the pivot designated by the numeral 69 and-the opposite end 69" serves as an operating handle. A pin H is secured to the bracket arm at the point designated by the numeral 72 which, under the tension of the spring 13 prevents the wheels 14 from turning. In this manner when the spring in the spring barrel 2 6 is wound up, and said spring barrel is enabled to hold the energy thus stored therein when the user utilizes the locking feature of the arm member 62, or the bracket arm 68. The user is thus enabled to place the toy car upon a rail track or upon the floor after which the arm member 62 or bracket arm 68 may be unlocked which act releases the stored energy in the spring barrel 26 thereby setting the car in motion.

Without the foregoing locking feature, the user would be obliged to hold the wheels 2| while winding up the spring 26 and furthermore to continue holding said wheels until the toy car shall have been set down upon the rail track or floor aforesaid. By pushing the handle end section 69' of the bracket arm in the direction shown by the arrow, the pin 1i releases the wheel 14 leaving it free to rotate under the influence of the spring motor. a

The wheels 14 provided for the toy hand car as shown in Fig. '7' are constructed to operate without a rail track. It will be understood, however, that by replacing the wheels 14 with flanged wheels 2|, the toy can also be run upon rail tracks.

It will thus be seen that by means of this invention a toy hand car of a novel and practical nature is provided to operate equally as well on a rail track or on any level surface. The toy by being constructed on somewhat larger lines may be used by larger children and others. The toy may also be provided with the arrangement describedfor manually operating the car. The toy may also be propelled by either a spring motor or by an electric motor. In the case of an electric motor drive the currentmay be obtained through the medium of the well known third rail; or a battery can be provided mounted on the base ii.

The Figures 56 and 57 are readily replaceable by any other type figure which can be applied by simply removing the legs from the base II and the hands from the bars 52 and 53 and replacing them with other type figures. It will thus be seen that any type figures may be employed and animated in lieu of that shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 7. It will also be seen that this invention is capable of other obvious modifications than that described and I therefore do not limit myself to the literal description herein made, being only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is- 1. A toy car comprising a wheeled base; one or more animated figures flexibly supported on said base; springmotor means for propelling said car upon rails or the like; a handle also operable by said motor means to which said figures are fiexibly hinged and which are animated by the movement of said handle; and a bracket arm included in said base for suspending the operation of the spring motor means aforesaid as set forth.

2. In a toy car comprising a base, one or more animated figures flexibly mounted on said base, a set of driving wheels supported on said base, operating means for moving said wheels supported on said base; said wheels imparting movement to said animated figures and means included in said base for preventing said operating means frommoving said driving wheels, said preventing means comprising a bracket handle adapted to halt the operation of the said operating means to discontinue the movement of said car.

3. A toy car adapted to travel on rails and the like, comprising a base, a set of wheels mounted on said base, at least one animated figure flexibly mounted on said base, means on said base for driving said wheels, said means comprising a spring motor, attached to said base, a member to which said figures are flexibly hinged, operable by said wheels whereby said figures are animated by the movement of said member, and a manually manipulative arm included in said base for rendering the spring motor ineffective.

4. In a toy hand car comprising a base, at least one composite figure mounted on said base, a set of wheels included on said base, a spring impelled motor adapted to actuate said wheels, said motor being supported on said base, an operating arm member for animating said figures, said operating arm being actuated directly by said wheels and manually manipulative means for rendering the propelling wheel means and the figure animating means ineffective.

5. A toy hand car comprising a wheeled base. one or more articulated figures flexibly mounted on said base, a pair of frames supported on said base, the upper part of said frames having hinged sections; a swinging arm hinged at the center amass? thereof and also upon said hinged sections, both ends of said swinging arm flexibly connected to the arms or some portion of the body of each oi said figures; a crank arm connecting said swinging arm to a crank loop section of a driving shaft that is attached to the wheels of said car; a spring motor supported on said car for actuating said driving shaft thereby actuating said articulate figures and driving said car simultaneously; and manually operated means integral to said car for arresting simultaneously the movement of said car and the animated figures aforesaid.

6. A toy hand car having a wheeled base, one or more animated figures flexibly connected to said base, each of said figures joined together in flexibly hinged sections thereby permitting bending of said figures, the arms of said figures connected to a rocking bar, a crank arm connected to said bar; motive means for operating said crank arm; said motive means comprising a spring impelled motor that is mounted "on the base aforesaid, said motor having a winding shaft, a winding handle connected thereto to wind the spring of said motor operating said car and said crank arm simultaneously; and manually manipulative means for rendering the operation of the car and the movement of said figures ineffective. I

7. In a toy hand car comprising a base, a pair of shafts held by said base, saidshafts carrying wheels for propelling said car in rail tracks; a frame included on said base, a rocking bar ailixed to said frame: a spring impelled motor having a shaft and a winding handle attached thereto, said lmotor afllxedon said base to propel said car, and also to provide motive means through the medium or said rocking bar forithe animation of one or more figures flexibly connected to said lease; and manually operated means integral to said car for arresting simultaneously the movement of said car and the animated figures aforesaid.

8. A toy hand car having a" wheeled base, one

I or more animated figures flexibly connected to said base, each oi said figures joined together in flexibly hinged sections thereby permitting the bending of said figures, the arms of said figures connected to a rocking bar, a crank arm con- I nected to said bar: motive means for operating said crank arm, said motive means comprising a spring impelled motor mounted on said car;

said motor having a winding shaft, a winding handle connected thereto to windthe spring of said motor operating said car and said crank arm simultaneously; and manually operated means for halting the operation of said motor after the spring thereof shall have been wound up, said halting means being manually released after said toy shall have been set upon a rail track or the like.

9. In a toy comprising a miniature railroad hand car having a base provided with propelling wheels that operate upon a rail track, articulated figures flexibly connected to said base, each of said figures joined together in flexibly hinged sections, the arm of said figures connected to a handlebar, a crank arm connected to said bar; motive means for-operating said crank arm, said motive means comprising a spring impelled motor mounted on said car, said motor having a winding shaft, a winding handle connected thereto to wind the spring of said motor, said motor operat-' 'ing said car and said crank arm simultaneously;

and means contained in said car for holding and releasing the movement of the car aforesaid.

. PATRICK E. E. CODERRE. 

